In some instances, it may be desirable to dilate an anatomical passageway in a patient. This may include dilation of ostia of paranasal sinuses (e.g., to treat sinusitis), dilation of the larynx, dilation of the Eustachian tube, dilation of other passageways within the ear, nose, or throat, etc. One method of dilating anatomical passageways includes using a guidewire and catheter to position an inflatable balloon within the anatomical passageway, then inflating the balloon with a fluid (e.g., saline) to dilate the anatomical passageway. For instance, the expandable balloon may be positioned within an ostium at a paranasal sinus and then be inflated, to thereby dilate the ostium by remodeling the bone adjacent to the ostium, without requiring incision of the mucosa or removal of any bone. The dilated ostium may then allow for improved drainage from and ventilation of the affected paranasal sinus. A system that may be used to perform such procedures may be provided in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0004057, entitled “Systems and Methods for Transnasal Dilation of Passageways in the Ear, Nose or Throat,” published Jan. 6, 2011, now abandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. An example of such a system is the Relieva® Spin Balloon Sinuplasty™ System by Acclarent, Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif.
A variable direction view endoscope may be used with such a system to provide visualization within the anatomical passageway (e.g., the ear, nose, throat, paranasal sinuses, etc.) to position the balloon at desired locations. A variable direction view endoscope may enable viewing along a variety of transverse viewing angles without having to flex the shaft of the endoscope within the anatomical passageway. Such an endoscope that may be provided in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0030031, entitled “Swing Prism Endoscope,” published Feb. 4, 2010, now abandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. An example of such an endoscope is the Acclarent Cyclops™ Multi-Angle Endoscope by Acclarent, Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif.
While a variable direction view endoscope may be used to provide visualization within the anatomical passageway, it may also be desirable to provide additional visual confirmation of the proper positioning of the balloon before inflating the balloon. This may be done using an illuminating guidewire. Such a guidewire may be positioned within the target area and then illuminated, with light projecting from the distal end of the guidewire. This light may illuminate the adjacent tissue (e.g., hypodermis, subdermis, etc.) and thus be visible to the naked eye from outside the patient through transcutaneous illumination. For instance, when the distal end is positioned in the maxillary sinus, the light may be visible through the patient's cheek. Using such external visualization to confirm the position of the guidewire, the balloon may then be advanced distally along the guidewire into position at the dilation site. Such an illuminating guidewire may be provided in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0078118, entitled “Sinus Illumination Lightwire Device,” published Mar. 29, 2012, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,155,492 on Oct. 13, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. An example of such an illuminating guidewire is the Relieva Luma Sentry™ Sinus Illumination System by Acclarent, Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif.
It often is desirable to alter the angle of the distal end of a guide member in order to access an anatomical passageway. As a result of the bending process to alter the angle, a change in cross-sectional shape may occur in which internal and/or external dimensions may change and thereby increase resistance to the movement of internal components through or of external components about the guide member. While several systems and methods have been made to avoid such problems, it is believed that no one prior to the inventors has made or used the invention described in the appended claims.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.